Few, if any, Israelis rejoiced at the news of 14 Palestinian civilians, including nine children, killed together with archterrorist Salah Shehada in Gaza. There may have been those who felt that the elimination of Shehada was worth it, even in retrospect, given the magnitude of the megaterrorist attacks he was planning. But even they were saddened by the loss of life. Not one Jew rushed out into the street to pass out candies, shoot off machine guns or ululate in celebration of Palestinian deaths.

No medals were awarded in a festive public ceremony to the pilot who dropped the bomb on Shehada's house, like the public ceremonies organized by the Palestinian Authority on July 18 to honor the families of suicide bombers and subsequently broadcast on P.A. TV.

Even upon the death of our bitterest enemies, Jews are instructed not to rejoice; we all grew up removing 10 drops from our wine cups at the Pesach seder in memory of the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea."

"Shehada was not killed as retribution for the hundreds of Jewish lives he had already claimed, but to prevent him from taking more. As the mastermind of impending attacks, he was the obvious target — the head of the snake."